"I was always scared to death Giancarlo Stanton's gonna hurt somebody" - Ex-Marlins OF recalls feeling uneasy with 2017 NL MVP's power

Giancarlo Stanton was a force to be reckoned in his initial days with the Miami Marlins. The outfielder and designated hitter homered 267 times in eight seasons for them. As a youngster, he also earned the respect of his older teammates because of his immense callibre.

Austin Kearns, Giancarlo Stanton's former teammate at the Marlins for two seasons said on a special throwback episode of the Mayor's Office podcast hosted by Sean Casey and Rich Ciancimino about sharing the clubhouse with a young Stanton during the 2012 season.

Kearns recalled asking Stanton to be more confident and vocal, recognizing him as one of the mainstays of the Marlins organization in the future. He also noted in laughter that he was scared the future 2017 NL MVP would hurt someone badly with the line drives he hit.

"We had a pretty veteran team down there and there were a lot of high expectations that first year (rebranding from Florida Marlins), and we didn't play that well.

"So, there were some team meetings and stuff, and some of the older guys were saying things, but I went up to Giancarlo one time, and I was like, 'Hey man, don't be afraid to speak up in these meetings because everybody in here, even though we're older, people respect you, and you're the guy that's going to be here longer than anybody.

He added:

"Your voice is going to carry weight where you go. If you do things the right way and go about your business the right way, when you speak up, people are going to listen.'

"He was just a really good dude, man, and just really easy to cheer for. I was always scared to death he was going to hurt somebody with one of these line drives that come off his bat," Kearns said. [49:16]

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Giancarlo Stanton's wholesome interactions with fans at Puerto Rico's Play Ball clinic

The MLB organizes the Play Ball clinic initiative where baseball stars take the sport to different parts of the world, interacting with young players coming up. Giancarlo Stanton represented the league in Puerto Rico chatting and played baseball with the children there.

The Yankees DH had a fun interaction with a fan when he was asked about how he felt about his 2024 teammate Juan Soto leaving them for the Mets.

"You wish he was with us, are you sad because he went to the Mets? We’ll be fine," he said with a smile. [1:15]

Giancarlo Stanton hit 27 home runs in 114 games last season, coming in handy as a cleanup hitter behind Soto and Aaron Judge. Without Soto in the lineup for 2025, Stanton and captain Judge will have to do the bulk of the Yankees' offensive work. with support needed from newcomers like Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt.